But is this really an effective way to counter Henry Clifford’s false claims?

While SWU’s ads portray the State of Israel for what it truly is – a homeland for the Jewish people, a pioneer in technology, a light unto the nations – they do not challenge Clifford’s distorted portrayal of Israel as a land thief. The ads do not feature similar maps showing the real evolution of the land – which would depict Israel, not Palestine, diminishing in size – nor do they shed light on the fact that 4.7 million – the number of Palestinians the U.N. classifies as refugees, and a detail Clifford highlights in his ad – is a grossly exaggerated figure.

In spite of their good intentions, SWU’s decision to address Israel’s positive attributes instead of countering Clifford’s false claims negatively affects public perceptions of the Jewish State. To stand by without defending Israel against the hateful, false allegations of land theft makes it seem as if the American pro-Israel movement is not disagreeing with Clifford’s distortion of history, but instead, trying to showcase Israel’s positive contributions to the world as a way of diverting attention away from the matter.

One SWU ad makes this very point. The ad shows that “Israel saves water through cutting-edge water conservation technology that is being exported around the world.” While it is important to educate the public on this gift of drip irrigation, in addition to Israel’s many other contributions, such information is irrelevant when attempting to combat Clifford’s distorted message. Without first disproving the content of the ad and asserting Israel’s right to exist today, this achievement makes it seem as if Israel is conserving water that it stole from the Palestinian Arabs.

Of course, this is not the case. SWU is right to highlight all the good that Israel does for the world, but such efforts alone are not enough. The best way – no, the only way, to truly combat Clifford’s virulently anti-Israel message is to publicly – via ad, pamphlet, or flyer – prove it wrong. Because history and truth is on our side, nothing should stand in our way.

Clifford welcomes the challenge: “Anyone who challenges these maps and the content of these ads, it’s their obligation to show that they’re historically wrong. The ball is in their court.”

The time has come to fight back for American public opinion. Here’s what people can do: